WARREN BURGER: THE PRAIRIE WIND

Those somber judicial robes that cloaked the broad shoulders of Warren Earl Burger for 17 years as Chief Justice of the United States never really disguised the fact that underneath he was an exuberant prairie yeoman--and proud of it. After a few sips of one of his fine clarets, Burger, who died last week at the age of 87, would lean back and reminisce about his rearing in the mold of the Horatio Alger stories, where young boys never rested, tried everything, excelled at much and took joy at each simple turn in a life on the land. He recalled the...